Immediately following on the heels of my nightmarish experience in Dubai, I was rewarded with an amazing dive trip to the Red Sea. After sleeping off my exhaustion, I woke up and piled into the car for the seven hour drive to Sharm el Sheikh. Arriving in Sharm, we were delayed another hour to fulfill the (annoying) new policies and procedures required by the Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS)- an institution that has come into being since my last visit to Sharm.
In an effort to create safer diving practices and protect coral and pelagic life in the Red Sea, the Egyptian government has created the CDWS to inspect all dive shops and water sports related businesses, institute and enforce regulations in and on the Red Sea and otherwise clean up some of the shady practices that have been status quo for years. This is very exciting as many shops in the area have a poor reputation for safety standards, and guides do little (if anything) to prevent divers and snorkelers from touching sea life and walking on the coral reefs. In addition, a push to protect coral from large construction projects is underway with new restrictions put into effect for building along the coast. All in all, this is a huge step forward for the Red Sea.
The CDWS has already shut down over twenty dive centers that could or would not adhere to the new regulations. And recently they flexed their new muscles after a tragic event down south. Dive trips to the deep south, near the border of Sudan, are popular for shark sightings. In fact, most dives in that area are focused on seeing sharks. Divers drop in, grab a rock (not coral!) and hang in the current while sharks of multiple varieties swim around them. Not my cup of tea, but the more mentally unbalanced pay big money for this type of trip.
A few basic rules should be adhered to- don't chum for sharks (feeding any sea life is forbidden), stay on the surface for the least possible amount of time (anything on the surface can look like shark bait) and respect the sharks and the reef while you're in the deep (trying to pet them tends to be a bad idea). Easy, basic rules.
The week before I arrived, a two boat expedition headed out to St. Johns, an island in the deep south known for the larger varieties of sharks, including the extremely curious Oceanic White Tipped Shark. It is this curiosity that has landed them in the category of top five most dangerous sharks in the world. Unfortunately, the boat captains decided to break all the rules of deep south diving- they threw chum in the water, then told a group of snorkelers to jump in for better shark viewing. Uh... not smart. To the sharks, already attracted by the chum, snorkelers floating on the surface must have looked unbelievably appealing. And sadly (though not surprisingly), one of the snorkelers lost her life.
It is this kind of poor judgment (...idiotic behavior by the crew...) that leads to tragedies which give diving in the Red Sea a bad reputation. I am happy to report that the CDWS revoked the licenses of both boats, which are now out of business, and the Chamber has send the message that this type of irresponsible behavior will not be tolerated.

So while I found the additional delay for policy and paperwork annoying, I can't complain too much. The CDWS is making huge leaps forward to make diving in the Red Sea safer and more enjoyable- a movement I thoroughly support.
Finally being allowed on Ranada, our fantastic dive boat, we realized that we were locked into staying at the jetty for the night as the rest of our group would be arriving after sundown. We promptly started drinking. Apparently, others in our group were doing the same on the drive out, and by the time they arrived they were deeper in the bag than we were. Watching them stumble down the jetty and fall into the boat (literally, in one woman's case) brought a wave of nostalgia for the old days. When I lived in Cairo, I would try to spend one weekend each month on Ranada, and being back was like visiting an old friend.
Sleeping on deck was a great idea in the cool of the evening, but by seven in the morning the blazing hot sun drove me downstairs to find some shade. We were already cruising and fighting for my sea legs that early (with a wee hangover) was a challenge. Finally mastering the roll and pitch of the waves, I made it to cooler quarters only to be woken an hour later for the morning dive. We debated waking those who were still suffering from the night before, but decided it was safer for all concerned that they sleep off the booze before hitting depth.
By nine o'clock we had arrived at the Straits of Tiran, where four coral islands stretch across between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, providing a spectacular variety of coral, pelagic life and rock formations for divers and snorkelers to enjoy (snorkeling here is perfectly safe- sharks are known to frequent these reefs, though they tend to be the shyer reef variety).
We spent the day diving the different islands. It felt great to be back, diving the old sites. After a two year absence, little had changed. The coral is still incredibly well maintained, the colors are as vibrant as ever, and we saw an amazing variety of life. Turtles, reef fish, spotted eagle rays, blue spotted stingrays and hammerhead sharks were among the highlights (fortunately for me, I had fallen asleep after lunch and missed the dive with the hammerheads... not sure I needed to see them to make the trip memorable).
As it was my friend's birthday, we moored for the night at Tiran Island, took necessities over to the beach and proceeded to have a birthday bash including a bonfire, roasted marshmallows and great conversation with some good people. It was a perfect way to chill out and end the day.
Waking the next morning, we dove Jackson and Woodhouse Islands, and then headed over to Tower, a local dive site on our way back to the jetty. This is one of my favorite dives as the drop in point provides a slo-mo simulation of skydiving while you drop straight to 30 meters, then follow up with a slow ascent up an incredibly beautiful coral wall. While cruising to Tower, we were treated to a show of dolphins leaping around the boat. Standing on deck in the sunshine, watching the dolphins playing, it struck me how absolutely perfect the weekend had been. It certainly made the hassles of getting there worthwhile.

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